Sylvatic plague, caused by Yersinia pestis, is a bacterial disease transmitted by fleas that afflicts many mammalian species, including humans.
Plague is widespread throughout the western U.S. and frequently occurs in wild rodents. All four species of prairie dogs in the U.S. are particularly susceptible to plague, suffering high mortality rates during outbreaks (> 90%) and resulting in local extirpation and population reductions. As a keystone species of grassland ecosystems, prairie dog losses significantly impact numerous other species that depend on them for food or shelter, including endangered black-footed ferrets, burrowing owls, mountain plovers, and several canine and avian predators. Controlling plague is a vital concern for ongoing management and conservation efforts for prairie dogs and black-footed ferrets.
Currently, plague is managed in prairie dogs through manual application of insecticides to burrows to kill the fleas that transmit Y. pestis. However, this process is labor intensive, and recent evidence suggests that fleas can develop resistance to the most frequently used pesticide.
The USGS National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC), in conjunction with others, has developed and tested a sylvatic plague vaccine (SPV), deliverable to prairie dogs via palatable bait that offers an additional approach for plague management. From 2013-15, NWHC scientists conducted a large, collaborative field study to test the effectiveness of SPV in reducing mortality from plague in four species of prairie dogs in 7 western states. This study involved state, federal, tribal and non-government agencies organized under the Black-footed Ferret Recovery Implementation Team (BFFRIT), a multi-agency effort led by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. The study found that vaccine treatment increased prairie dog abundance and also increased survival at sites with plague outbreaks. However, ongoing research is needed to scale-up SPV use as a management tool and to determine if its use will provide benefits to other species, like black-footed ferrets, or whether it could be used to protect public health. Learn more about NWHC work on vaccines.
Additional Sylvatic Plague Vaccine Resources
Below are multimedia items related to sylvatic plague.
Below are publications about sylvatic plague.
Plague
A recombinant raccoon poxvirus vaccine expressing both Yersinia pestis F1 and truncated V antigens protects animals against lethal plague.
Sylvatic plague vaccine: A new tool for conservation of threatened and endangered species?
Sylvatic plague vaccine and management of prairie dogs
Plague
Sylvatic plague vaccine: combating plague in prairie dogs and black-footed ferrets
Protecting Black-Footed Ferrets and Prairie Dogs against sylvatic plague
Recombinant F1-V fusion protein protects black-footed ferrets (Mustela nigripes) against virulent Yersinia pestis infection
Below are news stories about sylvatic plague.
Sylvatic plague, caused by Yersinia pestis, is a bacterial disease transmitted by fleas that afflicts many mammalian species, including humans.
Plague is widespread throughout the western U.S. and frequently occurs in wild rodents. All four species of prairie dogs in the U.S. are particularly susceptible to plague, suffering high mortality rates during outbreaks (> 90%) and resulting in local extirpation and population reductions. As a keystone species of grassland ecosystems, prairie dog losses significantly impact numerous other species that depend on them for food or shelter, including endangered black-footed ferrets, burrowing owls, mountain plovers, and several canine and avian predators. Controlling plague is a vital concern for ongoing management and conservation efforts for prairie dogs and black-footed ferrets.
Currently, plague is managed in prairie dogs through manual application of insecticides to burrows to kill the fleas that transmit Y. pestis. However, this process is labor intensive, and recent evidence suggests that fleas can develop resistance to the most frequently used pesticide.
The USGS National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC), in conjunction with others, has developed and tested a sylvatic plague vaccine (SPV), deliverable to prairie dogs via palatable bait that offers an additional approach for plague management. From 2013-15, NWHC scientists conducted a large, collaborative field study to test the effectiveness of SPV in reducing mortality from plague in four species of prairie dogs in 7 western states. This study involved state, federal, tribal and non-government agencies organized under the Black-footed Ferret Recovery Implementation Team (BFFRIT), a multi-agency effort led by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. The study found that vaccine treatment increased prairie dog abundance and also increased survival at sites with plague outbreaks. However, ongoing research is needed to scale-up SPV use as a management tool and to determine if its use will provide benefits to other species, like black-footed ferrets, or whether it could be used to protect public health. Learn more about NWHC work on vaccines.
Additional Sylvatic Plague Vaccine Resources
Below are multimedia items related to sylvatic plague.
Below are publications about sylvatic plague.
Plague
A recombinant raccoon poxvirus vaccine expressing both Yersinia pestis F1 and truncated V antigens protects animals against lethal plague.
Sylvatic plague vaccine: A new tool for conservation of threatened and endangered species?
Sylvatic plague vaccine and management of prairie dogs
Plague
Sylvatic plague vaccine: combating plague in prairie dogs and black-footed ferrets
Protecting Black-Footed Ferrets and Prairie Dogs against sylvatic plague
Recombinant F1-V fusion protein protects black-footed ferrets (Mustela nigripes) against virulent Yersinia pestis infection
Below are news stories about sylvatic plague.